Published 5:30 pm, Thursday, November 21, 2013

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Anita Kruse, Robin Reagler and Mary Scott Hagle enjoy the Writers in the Schools (WITS) celebration of 30 years of creativity at its annual benefit and silent auction, A Celebration of Story, Thursday, November 14 at the Junior League of Houston. less

Anita Kruse, Robin Reagler and Mary Scott Hagle enjoy the Writers in the Schools (WITS) celebration of 30 years of creativity at its annual benefit and silent auction, A Celebration of Story, Thursday, November ... more

Writers in the Schools (WITS) celebrated 30 years of creativity at its annual benefit and silent auction, A Celebration of Story, Thursday, November 14 at the Junior League of Houston. More than 310 guests gathered for an inspirational evening and helped WITS surpass its ambitious fundraising goals of $120,000 by nearly 20 percent and allowing the organization to extend the mission of teaching creative literacy to low income students across Houston. After a reception of auction bids, games, purple-tinis and photo booth fun, supporters experienced several ways WITS engage students in the power and pleasure of reading.

Chaired by WITS writer MaryScott Hagle and Daniel Kornberg, the evening honored Anita Kruse and Purple Songs Can Fly, a non-profit which allows cancer patients at Texas Children’s Hospital to create original compositions. WITS and Anita have been friends from the beginning, together, helping patients and their siblings write cathartic stories through the power of song. Attendees had a chance to sing-a-long to a WITS child’s poem turned powerful purple song, a touching moment during the evening which brought tears to the eyes of many!

Emcee and KHOU reporter Courtney Zubowski welcomed guests and introduced performances by Anita Kruse and three inspiring students that developed their thoughts and fears about cancer into impactful music with Purple Songs Can Fly. Songs by Simran Jatar, Emily Freeman and Morgan Fregia demonstrated the healing nature of creative writing and brought attendees to their feet.

WITS also showcased students from state champion slam poetry team, Meta-Four Houston. Terrell Cloud and Tiffany Ike moved the crowd with riveting poetry and each performed an original piece of writing. Meta-Four is a recent addition to WITS’ extensive programming which includes in-school workshops, classes in the community, professional development and summer camps.